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Ancestor's Memoirs
The Necromancer (1/3) Mastery over life and death was chief among my early pursuits. I began in humility, but my ambition was limitless. Who could have divined the prophetic import of something as unremarkable as a twitch in the leg of a dead rat? The Necromancer (2/3) I entertained a delegation of experts from overseas, eager to plumb the depths of their knowledge and share with them certain techniques and alchemical processes I had found to yield wondrous and terrifying results. Having learned all I could from my visiting guests, I murdered them as they slept. The Necromancer (3/3) I brought my colleagues back with much of their intellect intact. A remarkable triumph for even the most experienced necromancer. Freed from the trappings of their humanity, they plied their terrible trade anew. The dead reviving the dead, on and on, down the years. Forever. The Prophet (1/3) Excavations beneath the manor were well underway, when a particularly ragged indigent arrived in the Hamlet. This filthy, toothless miscreant posted an uncanny knowledge of my ambitions and prognosticated publicly that left unchecked, I would soon unleash doom upon the world. The Prophet (2/3) This raving creature had to be silenced, but doing so proved maddeningly impossible. How had he survive the stockades, the icy waters and the knives I delivered so enthusiastically into his back? How had he returned time and time again, to rouse the townsfolk with his wild speculations and prophecies? The Prophet (3/3) Finally, resign to his uncommon corporeal resilience, I lured him to the dig. There, I showed him the THING Under The Manor and detailed the full extent of my plans. Triumphantly I watched as he tore his eyes from their sockets and ran shrieking into the shadows, wailing maniacally that the end was upon us all. Swine Prince (1/3) The ways and rituals of blood sacrifice are difficult to master. Those from beyond require a physical vessel if they are to make the crossing into our reality. The timing of the chants is imperative. Without the proper utterances at precise intervals the process can fail spectacularly. Swine Prince (2/3) My first attempts at summoning were crude, and the results, disappointing. I soon found however that the type and condition of the host's meat was a critical factor. The best result came from pigs, whose flesh is most like that of men. Swine Prince (3/3) The great thing I had managed to bring through was brutish and stupid. Moreover, it required prodigious amounts of meat to sustain itself. But this was only a trifling concern. After all, I had a village full of it. The Flesh (1/3) My zeal for blood rituals and summoning rites had begun to ebb, as each attempt invariably brought only failure and disappointment. Progress was halting, and the rapidly accumulating surplus of wasted flesh had become... burdensome. The Flesh (2/3) I could not store such a prodigious amount of offal, nor could I rid myself of it easily, possessed as it was by unnamable things from outer spheres. When excavations beneath the manor broke through into an ancient network of aqueducts and tunnels, I knew I had found a solution to the problem of disposal. The Flesh (3/3) The spasmodically squirming, braying, and snorting half corpses were heaped each upon the other until at last I was rid of them. The Warrens had become a landfill of snout and hoof, gristle and bone, a mountainous twitching mass of misshapen flesh, fusing itself together in the darkness. The Hag (1/3) I had collected many rare and elusive volumes on ancient herbal properties, and was set to enjoy several weeks immersed in comfortable study. My work was interrupted, however, by a singularly striking young woman, who insisted on repeated calls to the house. The Hag (2/3) Her knowledge of horticulturism and its role in various arcane practices impressed me greatly. My licentious impulse gave way to a genuine professional respect and, together, we began to plant, harvest, and brew. The Hag (3/3) As time wore on, her wild policy of self-experimentation grew intolerable. She quaffed all manner of strange fungi, herbs, and concoctions, intent on gaining some insight into the horror we both knew to be growing beneath us. The change in her was appalling, and no longer able to stomach it I sent her to live in the Weald where her wildness would be welcomed. The Cannon (1/3) Simple folk are, by their nature, loquacious, and the denizens of the Hamlet were no exception. It was not long before rumours of my morbid genius and secretive excavations began to fill local legends. In the face of my increasingly egregious flaunting of public taboos, awe turned to ire, and demonstrations were held in the town square. The Cannon (2/3) The wild whispers of heresy roused the rabble to violent action. Such was the general air of rebellion that even my generous offer of gold to the local constabulary was rebuffed. To reassert my rule I sought out unscrupulous men skilled in the application of force. Tight-lipped and terrifying, these mercenaries brought with them a war machine of terrible implication. The Cannon (3/3) Eager to end the tiresome domestic distraction, I instructed my newly formed militia of hardened bandits, brigands and killers to go forth and do their work. Compliance and order were restored, and the annoysome population of the Hamlet was culled to more managable numbers. The Drowned Crew (1/3) Prying eyes had become a nuisance along the Old Road. And so I undertook to receive my most curious deliveries by way of marine shipments. A sheltered jetty was accessible by a narrow stone stair off the back of the manor, and the discreet system of pulleys could hoist even the heaviest prizes up the rock face from securely tied dingy below. The Drowned Crew (2/3) I employed a crew of particularly unsavory mariners, who, for a time, sailed the four corners at my behest, retrieving many valuable artifacts, relics, and rare texts. Predictably, they increased their tarrifs to counter my intense stipulations of secrecy. Such resources had long been exhausted, of course. And so I prepared an... alternative payment. The Drowned Crew (3/3) While the greedy dogs slept off their revelry, I hexed their anchor with every twisted incantation I could muster, imbuing it with the weight of my ambition and my contempt for their crude extortion. At the witching hour, the anchor pulled with preternatural force, dragging craft and crew down into the depths. They must have cried out, but no sound escaped the swirling black waters. The Siren (1/3) My lofty position wasn't always accompanied by the fear of office, and there was a time when I could walk the streets or raise a glass in the tavern without concern for molestation. Faithful as the tide, one precocious village waif made it her hobby to shadow my every errand. It was charming then, troublesome later. The Siren (2/3) In financial desperation I struck a bargain with the ancient things that surfaced in search of sacrifice when the moon was right. Their price was the delivery of an obscure idol, and one other item of more... troubling portent. The pact struck, my new found accomplices slip silently beneath the brackish water. A fearful staring at the edge of the torchlight betrayed a familiar witness, and gifted me with malign inspiration. The Siren (3/3) Under the blood moon I lured my wide eyed prey to the pier's edge. Before she could properly appreciate her position, I clamped on a manacle, chaining her to the leering idol. A small push was sufficient to send both into the icy waters. And when, at length, the tide receded, jewels of the most magnificent grandeur laid scattered upon the shore.